User-friendly image processing system, mobile terminal, image processing apparatus, and recording medium

ABSTRACT

A printing system includes an image formation apparatus for executing a print job of forming an image that has been received, and upon completing the print job, transmitting a notification of completion to the print job transmission source, and a client terminal for transmitting, to the image formation apparatus, the image formation print job based on a request from a user, and upon receiving the completion notification, alerting the user that the requested print job has been completed. When the number of print job transmission to the image formation apparatus does not match the number of completion notification receptions from the image formation apparatus, the client terminal prevents alerting the user of completion of the print job. When there is a match, the client terminal alerts the user of the print job completion, which had been prevented.

This application is based on an application No. 2006-225652 filed inJapan, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to image processing technology in an imageprocessing system that includes an image processing apparatus and amobile terminal.

2. Related Art

In recent years, image processing apparatuses (e.g., MFPs (MultipleFunction Peripherals)) that include many processing functions such asprint processing and FAX processing, as well as processing fortransmitting a scanned image by mail (so-called “scan-mail”) are beingsold.

Such image processing apparatuses are relatively expensive, and theirequipment requires a large amount of space. For this reason, printingsystems that connect a large number of client terminals to a limitednumber of image processing apparatuses via a network are often used.Note that a client terminal user is also called a client.

In a group of clients, some may be separated far away from an imageprocessing apparatus, and some may often be separated from their clientterminal for reasons such as being in a conference. Printing systemsthat use mail, audio data, etc. to transmit a completion notificationindicating the completion of a job sent to an image processingapparatus, an error notification indicating the occurrence of an errorduring job execution, or the like to such clients' mobile phones havebeen proposed.

Employing a printing system that transmits an error notification makesit possible in cases such as when an error occurs during the processingof printing data for the client to find out about the error, beforereaching the image apparatus, from the error notification transmittedfrom the image processing apparatus, and to promptly deal with theerror.

However, in conventional printing systems, although the client canpromptly find out about the error from the error notificationtransmitted from the image processing apparatus, he/she must inevitablygo to the installation site of the image processing apparatus andperform various operations and procedures to solve the error. In otherwords, conventional printing systems cannot be said to be user-friendlyfor the client.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention has been achieved in view of the above issue, andaims to provide a user-friendly image processing system, imageprocessing apparatus, mobile terminal, and recording medium.

In order to achieve the above aim, one aspect of the present inventionis an image processing system including: an image processing apparatusthat includes a job executor operable to receive an imageprocessing-related job and execute the received job, an authenticatoroperable to authenticate that a user of a mobile terminal is registeredin the image processing apparatus, a transmitter operable to transmit,to the mobile terminal of the authenticated user, a piece of applicationsoftware that enables at least one operation equivalent to a useroperation performed directly on the image processing apparatus in a caseof execution of the job pertaining to the authenticated user, and areceiver operable to receive, from the mobile terminal, operationcontent of an operation performed on the job by the authenticated userwith use of the piece of application software transmitted to the mobileterminal; and the mobile terminal that includes a receiver operable toreceive the piece of application software, an application softwareexecutor operable to execute the received piece of application software,and a transmitter operable to transmit, to the image processingapparatus, the operation content in a case of the authenticated userperforming the operation on the job with use of the applicationsoftware, wherein the job executor of the image processing apparatusexecutes the job in accordance with the operation content received fromthe mobile terminal pertaining to the authentication.

In order to achieve the above aim, another aspect of the presentinvention is an image processing apparatus capable of communication witha mobile terminal and including a job executor for executing an imageprocessing-related job, the image processing apparatus including: anauthenticator operable to authenticate that a user of a mobile terminalis registered in the image processing apparatus; a transmitter operableto transmit, to the mobile terminal of the authenticated user, a pieceof application software that enables at least one operation equivalentto a user operation performed directly on the image processing apparatusin a case of execution of the job pertaining to the authenticated user;and a receiver operable to receive, from the mobile terminal, operationcontent of an operation performed on the job by the authenticated userwith use of the piece of application software transmitted to the mobileterminal, wherein the job executor of the image processing apparatusexecutes the job in accordance with the operation content received fromthe mobile terminal pertaining to the authentication.

In order to achieve the above aim, another aspect of the presentinvention is a mobile terminal capable of communication with an imageprocessing apparatus for executing an image processing-related job, themobile terminal including: a transmitter operable to transmit, to theimage processing apparatus, authentication information necessary forauthentication of a user of the mobile terminal in the image processingapparatus; a receiver operable to, when the user has been authenticatedby the image processing apparatus, receive therefrom a piece ofapplication software that enables at least one operation equivalent to auser operation performed directly on the image processing apparatus in acase of execution of the job pertaining to the authenticated user; andan application software executor operable to execute the received pieceof application software, wherein the transmitter further transmits, tothe image processing apparatus, operation content of an operationperformed on the job by the authenticated user with use of the piece ofapplication software.

In order to achieve the above aim, another aspect of the presentinvention is a storage medium having recorded thereon a program forcausing an image processing apparatus, which is for executing an imageprocessing-related job and capable of communication with a mobileterminal, to perform processing including: an authentication step ofauthenticating that a user of the mobile terminal is registered in theimage processing apparatus; a transmission step of transmitting, to themobile terminal of the authenticated user, a piece of applicationsoftware that enables at least one operation equivalent to a useroperation performed directly on the image processing apparatus in a caseof execution of the job pertaining to the authenticated user; areception step of receiving, from the mobile terminal, operation contentof an operation performed on the job by the authenticated user with useof the piece of application software transmitted to the mobile terminal;and an execution step of executing the job in accordance with theoperation content received from the mobile terminal pertaining to theauthentication.

In order to achieve the above aim, another aspect of the presentinvention is a recording medium having recorded thereon a program forcausing a mobile terminal, which is capable of communication with animage processing apparatus for executing an image processing-relatedjob, to perform processing including: a first transmission step oftransmitting, to the image processing apparatus, authenticationinformation necessary for authentication of a user of the mobileterminal in the image processing apparatus; a reception step of, whenthe user has been authenticated by the image processing apparatus,receiving therefrom a piece of application software that enables atleast one operation equivalent to a user operation performed directly onthe image processing apparatus in a case of execution of the jobpertaining to the authenticated user; and a second transmission step oftransmitting, to the image processing apparatus, operation content of anoperation performed on the job by the authenticated user with use of thepiece of application software.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention willbecome apparent from the following description thereof taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate specificembodiments of the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows an overall structure of a printing system pertainingembodiment 1;

FIG. 2 describes exemplary processing of embodiment 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary outward appearance ofan MFP pertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary hardware structure in the MFP pertaining toembodiment 1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a controller of the MFP pertaining toembodiment 1;

FIG. 6 shows an authentication information management table pertainingto embodiment 1;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary outward appearance ofa mobile phone pertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary structure of a hardware structure of themobile phone pertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing of the controller of the MFPpertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing authentication processing pertaining toembodiment 1;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing job-type specification processingpertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing application transmission processingpertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing scan transmission job processingpertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing processing of the mobile phone pertainingto embodiment 1;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the authentication processing pertainingto embodiment 1;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing mobile phone authentication processingpertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing application processing pertaining toembodiment 1;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing job information notification processingpertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing application uninstallation processingpertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 20 shows a difference between an application for printing and anapplication for scan transmission pertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 21 describes another example pertaining to embodiment 1;

FIG. 22 describes exemplary processing of embodiment 2;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing print job processing pertaining toembodiment 2;

FIG. 24 describes exemplary processing of embodiment 3;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing authentication processing in an MFPpertaining to embodiment 3;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing application processing in a mobile phonepertaining to embodiment 3; and

FIG. 27 shows main functions of other job applications.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention are described below with referenceto the drawings. The embodiments are described as a printing system inwhich an MFP is applied as an image processing apparatus and a mobilephone is applied as a mobile terminal.

Embodiment 1

1. Overall Structure

The following describes an overall structure of a printing systempertaining to embodiment 1, using FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a printing system 1 includes one or more MFPs (here,MFPs 3 a and 3 b), one or more client terminals (here, three or moreclient terminals 5 a, 5 b and 5 c), and one more mobile phones (here, amobile phone 9).

The MFPs 3 a and 3 b can perform processing such as print processing,copy processing, FAX transmission processing, scan processing, andprocessing for sending an E-mail with a scanned image attached thereto(hereinafter, E-mail is called simply “mail”, and this function will becalled as “mail transmission”).

The MFPs 3 a and 3 b are connected to the client terminals 5 a to 5 cvia a LAN 7, and are also connected to a telephone circuit, theInternet, and the like. Note that FAX transmission and mail transmissionmay be collectively called “scan transmission”.

Specifically, the client terminals 5 a to 5 c and the MFPs 3 a and 3 bare connected to a LAN cable via a HUB (not depicted), and cancommunicate with each other using a predetermined protocol (here, TCP/IPprotocol). Also, the LAN 7 is connected to the Internet via a router notshown in FIG. 1.

As a result, the MFPs 3 a and 3 b can receive print jobs from the clientterminals 5 a to 5 c, transmit and receive FAXes, and transmit mail.

Note that in the case of a client or the client terminals 5 a to 5 ccausing the MFP 3 a or 3 b to perform print processing, copy processing,FAX transmission processing, scan processing, or mail transmissionprocessing, this can be performed by the client or the client terminalssending a print job, copy job, FAX transmission job, scan job, or mailtransmission job, or instructing the MFP to execute such jobs.

Also, when the client performs a predetermined procedure (described indetail later) with respect to the MFP 3 a, the MFP 3 a receives, fromthe mobile phone 9 in the possession of the client, an operation for,for example, changing the content of a job that has been sent to the MFP3 a or solving an error that has occurred for some reason, and executesa job in accordance with the received operation.

Next is a description of exemplary processing of embodiment 1 using FIG.2.

First, the person intending a job request (i.e., the client) goes to theinstallation site of the MFP 3 a, and performs login authentication(depicted as “1”) between the mobile phone 9 and the MFP 3 a. The loginauthentication is performed between the mobile phone 9 and the MFP 3 ain order to allow various types of processing which are describedhereinafter, and login is permitted when the mobile phone 9 isauthenticated as the mobile phone 9 of a client who is registered in theMFP 3 a.

After login authentication is performed, the client registers the job tobe executed by the MFP 3 a (depicted as “2”). Here, the registered jobis a scan transmission job whose transmission destination is “A” andtransmission method is “mail”.

Upon receiving the registration of the job (scan transmission job) fromthe client, the MFP 3 a transmits, to the mobile phone 9, a piece ofapplication software (hereinafter, called simply an “application”) to beused by the mobile phone 9 in connection with the registered job(depicted as “3”). Upon reception, the mobile phone 9 installs thereceived application (depicted as “4”).

Next, the client moves from the MFP 3 a to another location (this is notalways required). The MFP 3 a executes the job (depicted as “11”), andtransmits a mail to the transmission destination “A” (depicted as “12”).

If, for example, the mail address of the transmission destination “A”has changed, mail transmission will fail, a transmission error willoccur, and the MFP 3 a will notify error content to such effect to themobile phone 9 (depicted as “13”).

Upon finding out the content of the error from the mobile phone 9, theclient uses the mobile phone 9 to perform an operation for changing thetransmission method from mail transmission to FAX transmission (depictedas “14”).

Upon receiving the operation, the MFP 3 a changes the transmissionmethod from mail transmission to FAX transmission in accordance with theoperation instruction from the mobile phone 9, and transmits thepreviously scanned data to the transmission destination “A” as FAX data(depicted as “15”). When the FAX transmission has finished and the jobhas been completed, the MFP 3 a transmits to the mobile phone 9 anotification that the job has been completed (hereinafter, called a“completion notification”) (depicted as “16”).

This enables the client to find out from the mobile phone 9 that the jobhas been completed, and the mobile phone 9 uninstalls the applicationthat is no longer necessary since the job sent to the MFP 3 a has beencompleted (depicted as “17”).

As described above, even if, for example, there is a need to give aninstruction to the MFP 3 a, the client who requested the job candirectly give the instruction without the trouble of having to go to theinstallation site of the MFP 3 a or return to the installation site ofthe client terminal 5 a, 5 b or 5 c.

Also, even if the client moves away from the MFP 3 a and clientterminals 5 a to 5 c after requesting a job to the MFP 3 a, he/she canuse the mobile phone 9 to send instructions to and perform operations onthe MFP 3 a.

Note that in the present embodiment, the instructions and notificationcontent exchanged between the MFP 3 a and the mobile phone 9 are storedin mail headers, and an identification number indicating a type of themail is also stored in the mail headers. This enables the MEP 3 a andmobile phone 9 to know what kind of information is stored in a receivedmail.

2. Apparatus Structures

2.1 MFP

(1) Overview

The MFP 3 a has conventionally known functions, which are specificallyperforming the aforementioned print processing, copy processing, scanprocessing, FAX transmission/reception processing, mailtransmission/reception processing, etc., as well as authenticating themobile phone in the possession of the client, and receiving an operationregarding a job from the mobile phone that has been authenticated.

Note that although described in detail later, the mobile phone 9includes an IC chip storing information pertaining to the client, andthe authentication is implemented by providing the MFP 3 a with a readerfor reading such information.

(2) Appearance

The following describes an exemplary appearance of the MFP pertaining toembodiment 1 with reference to the FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the MFP 3 a includes a scanner 301 for acquiringimage data by reading an original document or the like, a documentfeeder 303 for supplying a document (original) having an image formedthereon to the scanner 301, a printer 305 for performing image formationbased on image data and print data, a tray 307 for retaining a documenthaving an image formed thereon by the printer 305, a sheet supply part309 for storing a recording sheet such as paper or film to be used inimage formation and for supplying the recording sheet to the printer305, an operation part 311 including a plurality of input keys such ascharacter and symbol keys used for inputting the number of print sets,various settings, etc. (e.g., numeric keys), an IC reader 313 a of anauthenticator 313 for authenticating the mobile phone 9 of the client, adisplay 315 for showing various displays to the client, and the like.

Note that the display 315 is a touch panel system, and functions todetect a position on the touch panel where the client has touched withhis/her finger and input the detection result as a signal. The display315 also performs a portion of the functions of the aforementionedoperation part 311.

Also, the displays shown to the client by the display 315 includemessages indicating a job status during processing, a job receptionstatus, an error, etc., guidance screens for when the client isconfiguring settings, a result of inputting a number of print sets, andthe like.

(3) Hardware

The following describes hardware of the MFP pertaining to embodiment 1with reference to FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the MFP 3 a includes the operation part 311, thedisplay 315, the authenticator 313, the scanner 301, the sheet supplypart 309, the printer 305, the document feeder 303, a communicationinterface 317, a controller 319, a ROM 321, a RAM 323, a hard disk 325,an application storage part 327, and the like.

The operation part 311, the display 315 and the document feeder 303 areas described above.

The scanner 301 photoelectrically reads the image drawn on the originaldocument, and generates digital image data (here, the digital image datais density data that indicates a density of red (R), green (G), and blue(B), or black (Bl)). The thus obtained image data is used for imageformation (printing) in the printer 305, as well as is converted to afile format such as TIFF, PDF, or JPEG, and stored to the hard disk 325(this processing is called “scan to box” processing), is converted toFAX data and used in FAX transmission, is used as a file attachment formail transmission, and the like.

The printer 305 prints, to a recording sheet supplied from the sheetsupply part 309, an image read by the scanner 301, an image representedby data (may also be a document) transmitted from the client terminal 5a, 5 b, 5 c, or the like which is connected via a network such as theLAN 7, an image represented by FAX data received by FAX, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, the authenticator 313 includes, for example, the ICreader 313 a provided between the display 315 and the operation part311. The IC reader 313 a reads the information stored in the IC chip ofthe mobile phone, and outputs the read data to the controller 319.

The application storage part 327 stores the application to be installedin the mobile phone 9, and stores applications corresponding to jobrequests sent from the client or one of the client terminals 5 a to 5 c.In the present embodiment, the applications include a scan application327 a for scan transmission processing and a print application 327 b forprint processing.

The communication interface 317 performs communication (including mailtransmission/reception), via the network, with external apparatuses suchas the client terminals 5 a to 5 c and with external networks etc., andperforms FAX transmission/reception via a telephone circuit. Note thatan NIC (Network Interface Card), modem, terminal adapter or the like isused as the communication interface 317.

The ROM 321 stores for example, data and programs for realizing theprocessing functions such as print processing, copy processing, FAXtransmission/reception processing, scan processing, mail transmissionprocessing, scan to box processing, and the like. Needless to say, theROM 321 also stores data and programs that realize the functions of thepresent embodiment.

All or a portion of these programs and data may be installed to the harddisk 325. In this case, the programs and data installed to the hard disk325 are loaded to the RAM 323 as necessary.

The RAM 323 provides a work area for executing various jobs to beexecuted under control of the controller 319, and stores necessaryprograms, various types of tables, and the like.

Note that the functions described in the present embodiment can berealized by using not necessarily only the controller 319, but alsodedicated hardware, and a portion of the functions can be realized byusing functions of a general purpose program such as an operating system(OS).

(4) Controller

As shown in FIG. 4, the controller 319 controls the operation part 311,the display 315, the authenticator 313, the scanner 301, the sheetsupply part 309, the printer 305, the document feeder 303, thecommunication interface 317, the ROM 321, the RAM 323, the hard disk325, the application storage part 327, and the like. In other words, thecontroller 319 controls the parts that execute job processing, incooperation with the aforementioned parts.

Next is a description of an exemplary controller of the MFP pertainingto embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 319 includes a main controller 331,an authentication controller 333, an account manager 335, an accountdatabase 337, an input acquirer 339, a display controller 341, anaddress manager 343, an address storage part 345, an applicationcontroller 347, and a job controller 349.

The display controller 341 controls content to be displayed by thedisplay 315. The input acquisition part 339 acquires input from theoperation part 311 (including the touch panel of the display 315). Theinput acquirer 339 and the display controller 341 are in associationwith each other, and the display controller 341 controls the content tobe displayed on the display 315, depending on the content input via theoperation part 311.

The job controller 349 mainly manages jobs, and includes a job analyzer351, a job instruction part 353, and a job manager 355.

The job manager 355 performs management regarding jobs, registers jobsreceived from the client or the one of the client terminals 5 a to 5 c,determines a processing order of the registered jobs, and performsmanagement of jobs being executed (e.g., management regarding whether anerror has occurred during processing of a job).

The job analyzer 351 analyzes the types of the registered jobs. The jobinstruction part 353 gives various instructions to controllers andmanagers regarding a job, from among the jobs (not yet executed) managedby the job manager 355, that is to be processed next according to theprocessing order, and when there has been an instruction to change thecontent of the job, instructs the parts in accordance with the change.

For example, upon receiving a print job request from one of the clientterminals 5 a to 5 c, first the job manager 355 registers the job, thejob analyzer 351 analyzes the type of the registered job, and based onthe analysis result, the job instruction part 353 instructs the sheetsupply part 309, the printer 305 and the like, which are parts relatedto processing of the print job.

Also, if the job received from the client or one of the client terminals5 a to 5 c is a job pertaining to authentication, the job controller 349outputs a notification to such effect to the main controller 331.

The account manager 335 manages account information such asauthentication information used when authenticating the mobile phone 9.The account database 337 stores the account information. Here, theaccount information includes authentication information, transmissioninformation, billing information, access information, etc., and suchinformation is managed in, for example, a management table.

The following describes an example of the authentication informationpertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, the account information includes names, passwords,and IP addresses of client terminals used by clients, which are storedin a management table T1.

Upon receiving an input of new information from the operation part 311,the account manager 335 adds the input information to the accountdatabase 337, and upon receiving an input of changed new information,rewrites the information in the account database.

Note that even when a change or addition to the account information isreceived from one of the client terminals 5 a to 5 c via thecommunication interface 317, the account manager 335 similarly changesor makes an addition to the information in the account database 337.

The address manager 343 manages other printers on the network, theaddress of the MFP 3 b and the like (may also be a client terminal),mail addresses and FAX numbers that are the destinations of scantransmissions, and the like. The address storage part 345 stores varioustypes of addresses in a storage table.

Even when a change or addition to an address is received via theoperation part 311 or the communication interface 317, the addressmanager 343 changes or makes the addition to the address in the addressstorage part 345, similarly to the account manager 335.

The authentication controller 333 performs authentication of the mobilephone 9. Specifically, the authentication controller 333 judges whetherthe name and password acquired via the IC part 909 (see FIG. 7) of theclient's mobile phone 9 matches authentication information registered inthe account database 337 such as shown in FIG. 6. If there is a match,the authentication controller 333 outputs, to the below-described maincontroller 331, a notification for permitting login of the mobile phone9 according to the authentication.

When there is notification from the main controller 331 that login ofthe mobile phone 9 has been permitted according to the authenticationand a job pertaining to the authentication is registered, theapplication controller 347 transmits, to the mobile phone 9, anapplication corresponding to the job request received from the client inpossession of the mobile phone 9. Also, upon receiving an operationinstruction that has been created using the application on the mobilephone 9 and pertains to a job being executed or in order to be executed,the application controller 347 instructs the job instruction part 353via the main controller 331 in accordance with the instruction.

Lastly, the main controller 331 performs overall control of managerssuch as the account manager 335 and controllers such as theauthentication controller 333, and is constituted from a CPU or thelike.

2.2 Mobile Phone

(1) Overview

The mobile phone 9 performs conventionally known processing such as,specifically, phone communication processing and mailtransmission/reception processing. The mobile phone 9 includes an ICchip that stores a mail address and information for authenticating theclient.

Upon being authenticated with the MFP 3 a, the mobile phone 9 performsoperations using the application transmitted from the MFP 3 a withrespect to a job requested by the client in possession of the mobilephone. Note that the following distinction is made between expressions.The person in possession of the mobile phone is called a “user” whenhe/she is using the mobile phone 9 as a normal phone, and a “client”when he/she is using the mobile phone 9 in a manner pertaining to thepresent embodiment.

(2) Appearance

The following describes an exemplary appearance of the mobile phonepertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 7, the mobile phone 9 includes an operation part 901including two or more number, character, or symbol input keys 901 a usedin the input of a phone number, mail address, etc.; a display 903 fordisplaying a phone number and mail content; a speaker 905 used duringcalling, a microphone 907, etc., as well as an IC part 909 provided withan IC chip for authentication, and the like.

(3) Hardware

The following describes exemplary hardware of the mobile phonepertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 8.

As shown in FIG. 8, the mobile phone 9 includes a controller 911, amicrophone 907, a speaker 905, an IC part 909, a display 903, anoperation part 901, a memory 913, a wireless communicator 915, and anoscillator 916.

The IC part 909 includes an internal IC chip, and outputs (transmits),to the MFP 3 a, the name (may be a nickname, abbreviation, etc.) of theuser of the mobile phone 9, as well as password authenticationinformation and the mail address of the mobile phone 9, by wirelesscommunication.

The memory 913 stores information regarding the user of the mobile phone9 (e.g., a profile including his/her name, mail address, etc.), others'phone numbers, mail addresses, addresses, etc. The wireless communicator915 performs wireless communication with a closest base station.

Upon receiving an incoming call signal, the oscillator 916 oscillatesthe mobile phone 9 in order to alert the user of the incoming call. Notethat the operation part 901 and the display 903 are the same asdescribed above.

(4) Controller

As shown in FIG. 8, the controller 911 includes a main controller 912, acall controller 917, a mail controller 919, an authentication controller922, a display controller 927, an input acquirer 929, a memory manager931, and a communication controller 933.

The call controller 917 mainly performs control necessary to phonecommunication via the wireless communicator 915. Specifically, the callcontroller 917 transmits an outgoing call signal based on a phone numberinput by the user using the input keys 901 a of the operation part 901,outputs a ring alert from the speaker 905 upon receiving an incomingcall signal, converts audio input from the microphone 907 into digitalsignals for example, converts signals received from the wirelesscommunicator 915 to audio and outputs the audio from the speaker 905,and the like.

The mail controller 919 mainly performs control necessary to mailtransmission/reception such as packet communication via the wirelesscommunicator 915. Specifically, the mail controller 919 performsprocessing such as storing a document input by user operation of thevarious keys of the operation part 901 (hereinafter, simply referred toas “storing to a mail”) and transmitting a mail body storing the inputdocument, transmitting a mail body with an image etc. attached(hereinafter, simply referred to as “attaching to a mail”), and alsoinforms the client of mail reception, displays mail content on thedisplay 903, and the like.

The authentication controller 922 includes mainly an applicationcontroller 923 and an IC manager 925. The authentication controller 922mainly performs processing such as authentication with the MFP 3 a,management and control of applications, management of authenticationinformation, etc.

The application controller 923 temporarily stores an applicationattached to a mail from the MFP 3 a to the memory 913, runs theapplication and displays, on the display 903, information regarding thejob request that the client sent from the mobile phone 9, transmitsinstructions regarding the job from the mobile phone 9 to the MFP 3 a,and the like.

The IC manager 925 mainly performs control necessary to authenticationof the mobile phone 9 with the MFP 3 a. Specifically, the IC manager 925rewrites information in the IC chip of the IC part 909, and transmitsthe client's name, password, and mail address to the MFP 3 a when themobile phone 9 has approached the authenticator 313 of the MFP 3 a.

The display controller 927 mainly performs control necessary to displaysperformed by the display 903. Specifically, the display controller 927displays content input from the operation part 901, displays anapplication execution screen in accordance with an instruction from theapplication controller 923, and the like.

The input acquirer 929 mainly acquires numbers and characters input fromthe operation part 901, and the memory manager 931 mainly manages thememory 913. The memory manager 931, for example, stores phone numbers,addresses, and mail addresses input from the operation part 901 to thememory 913, and performs management such as saving and deletingapplications from the MFP 3 a.

The call controller 933 mainly performs control necessary to phonecommunication, packet communication, etc. via the wireless communicator915. Lastly, the main controller 912 associates a manager such as thememory manger 931 with a controller such as the application controller923.

2.3 Client Terminal

The following describes the client terminals 5 a to 5 c, which are eachreferred to as simply a “client terminal 5” since their structures etc.are basically the same.

The client terminal 5 is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), and asshown in FIG. 1, includes a monitor 501, a main body 503, a key board505, a mouse 507, and the like.

Software installed in the client terminal 5 includes an OS,applications, and various drivers such as printer drivers and monitordrivers.

The applications run on the OS, and include document creation, graphiccreation, calculating table creation programs, and the like. Theapplications are installed via the OS, are saved in a storage part, andsend, to the MFP 3 a or 3 b via the LAN 7, job requests for printing adocument etc.

3. Description of Operations

3.1 MFP 3 a

(1) Overview

The following describes exemplary operations of the MFP 3 a withreference to FIG. 9.

The controller 319 first causes the display 315 to display a defaultscreen (S101), and then proceeds to the next step.

If a print job is received from, for example, the client terminal 5 a instep S102 (S102: YES), print job processing is executed (S103), and if aprint job is not received (S102: NO), processing moves to step S104.Note that a description of the print job processing has been omittedsince it is the same as conventionally known print processing.

If a FAX is externally received in step S104 (S104: YES), FAX receptionprocessing is executed (S105), and if a FAX is not received (S104: NO),processing moves to S106. Note that a description of the FAX receptionprocessing has been omitted since it is the same as conventionally knownFAX reception processing.

If a mail is received in step S106 (S106: YES), mail receptionprocessing is executed (S107), and if a mail is not received (S106: NO),processing moves to step S108. Note that a description of the mailreception processing has been omitted since it is the same asconventionally known mail reception processing.

If the input acquirer 339 receives input from the operation part 311 instep S108, that is, if there has been an input operation of theoperation part 311 by the client (S108: YES), processing moves to stepS109, and if there has not been an input operation of the client (S108:NO), processing returns to step S102.

In step S109, if the operation content of step S108 relates to FAXtransmission (S109: YES), FAX transmission processing is executed(S110), and if the operation content is not related to FAX transmission(S109: NO), processing moves to step S111. Note that a description ofFAX transmission processing has been omitted since it is the same asconventionally known FAX transmission processing.

In step S111, if the operation content of step S108 relates to scan tobox (S111: YES), scan to box processing is executed (S112), and if theoperation content is not related to scan to box (S111: NO), processingmoves to step S113. Note that a description of scan to box processinghas been omitted since it is the same as conventionally known scan tobox processing.

In step S113, if the operation content of step S108 relates to scantransmission (S113: YES), scan transmission processing is executed(S114), and if the operation content is not related to scan transmission(S113: NO), processing moves to step S115. Note that a description ofscan transmission processing has been omitted since it is the same asconventionally known scan transmission processing.

In step S115, if the operation content of step S108 relates to copying(S115: YES), copy processing is executed (S116), and if the operationcontent is not related to copying (S115: NO), processing moves to stepS117. Note that a description of copy processing has been omitted sinceit is the same as conventionally known copy processing.

In step S117, if the operation content of step S108 relates to anauthentication operation (S117: YES), the job instruction part 353 andthe authentication controller 333 are caused to perform authenticationprocessing (S118), and if the operation content is not related to anauthentication operation (S117: NO), processing returns to step S102.

(2) Authentication Processing

The following describes an example of the authentication processingpertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 10.

Upon receiving an operation pertaining to the authentication operationfrom the client in step S108 of FIG. 9, the main controller 319 causes,via the display controller 314, the display 315 to display a defaultauthentication screen (S131). The default authentication screen is aguidance screen etc. displayed to the client for performingauthentication of the mobile phone 9, and here, is a screen displayingwhether authentication processing has begun.

Whether there has been a client operation (e.g., input on the touchpanel) for starting authentication in accordance with the screendisplayed on the display 315 is judged (S132), and if there has been anoperation for starting authentication, processing moves to step S133,and information (authentication information) and the mail address of themobile phone 9 are acquired.

Here, after performing the operation for starting authentication usingthe touch panel etc., the client brings the IC part 909 of the mobilephone 9 close to the IC reader 313 a of the authenticator 313 of the MFP3 a. As a result, the authentication controller 333 of the MFP 3 aacquires, from the authenticator 313 by wireless communication, the nameof the client and the password stored in the IC part 909 of the mobilephone 9 (S133), the acquired name and password are stored in the accountdatabase 337, and whether the account has been registered in advance ischecked (S134) [0155] If the name and password acquired from the mobilephone 9 match an account in step S134 (S134: OK), account authenticationis notified to the mobile phone 9 with use of, for example, mail (S135),and the mobile phone 9 is permitted to login (S136).

On the other hand, if the client has not performed the operation forstarting authentication in step 132 (S132: NO), processing proceeds tostep S137, in which the display controller 341 causes the display of anoption to perform another authentication method, and waits for clientinput to be acquired via the input acquirer 339.

If the client input instructs the execution of another authenticationmethod (S137: YES), the authentication controller 333 performsauthentication processing using a preregistered other authenticationmethod (e.g., the client directly inputs their name and password usingthe operation part 311) (S138), and login is permitted if the account isauthenticated. The mail address of the mobile phone 9 is also input atthis time.

On the other hand, if the client input instructs that anotherauthentication method is not to be executed (S137: NO), the maincontroller 331 returns to step S131.

When login is authenticated in step S136, the address manager 343 storesthe mail address of the mobile phone 9 that was acquired in steps S133and S138 in the address storage part 345 as information pertaining tothe transmission destination of the application (S140), and performsjob-type specification processing for specifying the type of the jobpertaining to the authentication of the mobile phone 9 (S141).

Here, “job type” refers to, for example, a print job, copy job, or ascan transmission job.

The following describes an example of the job-type specificationprocessing (S141) pertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 11.

In the job-type specification processing, first the display controller341 displays a job registration screen on the display 315 (S151). Thejob registration screen includes an explanation, guidance, and the likefor receiving a job (job type) pertaining to the authentication of themobile phone from the user. Also, the main controller 331 determines,via the input acquirer 339, whether key input has been received from theclient (S152).

If key input has been received from the client (S152: YES), the maincontroller 331 identifies the type of key input (S153), and based on thetype of key input, the job analyzer 351 analyzes which type the job is(here, a print job or scan transmission job). Note that although the jobpertaining to the authentication in the present embodiment includes twotypes, namely a print job and a scan transmission job, the presentembodiment is not limited to these two types of jobs.

If the job type is scan transmission job in step S154 (S154: SCANTRANSMISSION), the main controller 331 causes, via the displaycontroller 341, the display 315 to display content for inputtingsettings of the scan transmission job (S155), receives an inputregarding the scan transmission job from the operation part 311 via theinput acquirer 339, and controls the job manager 355 to configure thescan transmission job according to the input settings (S156).Thereafter, processing returns and proceeds to step S142 of FIG. 10.

On the other hand, if the job type is a print job in step S154 (S154:PRINT), the main controller 331 causes, via the display controller 341,the display 315 to display content for inputting settings of the printjob (S157), receives an input regarding the print job from the operationpart 311 via the input acquirer 339, and controls the job manager 355 toconfigure the print job according to the input settings (S158).Thereafter, processing returns and proceeds to step S142 of FIG. 10.

Returning now to FIG. 10, application transmission processing isperformed in step S142.

The following describes an example of the application transmissionprocessing (S142) pertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 12.

The application transmission processing is processing for transmittingan application regarding the job pertaining to the authentication, tothe mobile phone 9 that has been authenticated. The application to besent is for, for example, sending an error-solving instruction from themobile phone 9 to the MFP 3 a if there has been an error etc. during jobprocessing, or sending content changes from the mobile phone 9 to theMFP 3 a in a case of changing the processing content of the job.

When the type of the job is specified as described above, theapplication controller 347 acquires, from the address manager 343, theapplication transmission destination information that is stored in theaddress storage part 345 (S146). If the job type is a scan transmissionjob (S147: SCAN TRANSMISSION), the application controller 347 transmits,by mail for example, an application for operating the scan transmissionjob to the application transmission destination (S148), and thereafter,processing returns and proceeds to step S143 of FIG. 10.

On the other hand, if the job type is a print job (S147: PRINT), theapplication controller 347 transmits, by mail for example, anapplication for operating the print job to the application transmissiondestination (S149), and thereafter, processing returns and proceeds tostep S143 of FIG. 10.

Returning now to FIG. 10, if the job type in step S143 is a scantransmission job (S143: SCAN TRANSMISSION), processing proceeds to scantransmission job processing (S144), and if the job type is a print job(S143: PRINT), processing proceeds to print job processing (S145).

The following describes the scan transmission job processing and theprint job processing. Note that in the present embodiment, flows of thescan transmission job processing and print job processing aresubstantially the same (only the processing content of the jobs aredifferent). Therefore, the following first describes the scantransmission job processing, and thereafter is a description of printjob processing which focuses on differences from the processing contentof the scan transmission job.

(2.1) Scan Transmission Job Processing

The following describes an example of the scan transmission jobprocessing (S144) pertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 13.

In the scan transmission job processing, the job received from theclient is executed by mainly the job controller 349 (S161). Whenprocessing of the job has been completed (S162: YES), a notificationthat the job has been completed (job completion notification) istransmitted to the mobile phone 9 in possession of the client with useof, for example, a mail (S163).

Upon seeing the job completion notification that the mobile phone 9 hasreceived, the client performs an operation (transmits to the MFP 3 a anotification for logout) for ending the communication (login state) withthe MFP 3 a since the job request has been completed.

In accordance with this operation, when the MFP 3 a receives thenotification that the mobile phone 9 has logged out (S164: YES),processing moves to the return of FIG. 10 (authentication processingends), and further proceeds to step S102 of FIG. 9. Note that if thenotification that the mobile phone 9 has logged out is not received instep S164, the MFP 3 a waits until the mobile phone 9 logs out (S164:NO).

On the other hand, if the job has not been completed in step S162 (S162:NO, the job completion notification has not been received from the jobmanager 355), the MFP 3 a determines whether an error has occurred inthe job pertaining to the authentication of the mobile phone 9 (S165)This judgment is performed by making an inquiry to the job manager 355.

If an error has occurred (S165: YES), the error content is identified(S166). If the content pertains to an error that cannot be solvedwithout performing operations at the installation site of the MFP 3 a(e.g., problems with the MFP 3 a itself, such as a recording sheet jam,or toner shortage) (S167: YES), the error content is transmitted to themobile phone 9 (S168), and processing moves to step S169.

In step S169, a judgment whether the error that occurred in the MFP 3 ahas been solved is performed.

Here, the client who was informed of the error content by the mobilephone 9, or another person handles the cause of the error in the MFP 3a. Once the error has been solved, processing moves to the YES branch ofstep S169, and then proceeds to step S170.

After an error solution notification indicating that the error has beensolved is transmitted to the mobile phone 9 with use of a mail,processing moves to step S161, and for example, the above-describedsteps S162, S163, and S164 are performed.

On the other hand, the error content is transmitted to the mobile phone9 (S172) if in step S167 the error can be solved without going to theinstallation site of the MFP 3 a (S167: NO).

Here, an error that “can be solved without going to the installationsite of the MFP 3 a” refers to, for example, failed transmission in acase of attaching scanned data to a mail and transmitting the mail tothe transmission destination “A” as shown in FIG. 2.

The client who has viewed the above error content transmits, from themobile phone 9 to the MFP 3 a, a modification to the job content suchthat the error is solved. Note that the modification to the contentreferred to here includes suspending transmission of the mail with thescanned data attached, and instead transmitting the scanned data by FAX.Other examples of modifications to the content are described later.

Upon receiving the change of job content from the mobile phone 9 in stepS173 (S173: YES), first the job content is changed to solve the error(S174), and thereafter processing proceeds to step S170. Note that stepS170 and the next step are the same as described above.

If a job content change for solving the error is not received from themobile phone 9 in step S173 (S173: NO), processing proceeds to stepS175, and whether the error has been solved is judged. Processingreturns to step S173 if the error has not been solved (S175: NO), andprocessing proceeds to step S170 if the error has been solved (S175:YES).

If an error has not occurred in the job pertaining to the authenticationin step S165 (S165: NO), the MFP 3 a for example enters a job processingorder wait state. When a change of job content is received from themobile phone 9 in step S176 (S176: YES), the job content is changed soas to reflect the received change of job content (S177), and processingproceeds to step S161. If a change of job content is not received fromthe mobile phone 9 (S176: NO), processing proceeds to step S161 andwaits for the job to be processed.

(2.2) Print Job Processing

FIG. 13 can also express a flowchart of the print job processing.

First, in step S161, the print job received from the client or one ofthe client terminals is executed.

Also, if the error that occurred can be solved without going to theinstallation site of the MFP 3 a in step S167 (S167: NO), the content ofthe error is transmitted to the mobile phone 9 (S172).

Here, the error that “can be solved without going to the installationsite of the MFP 3 a” includes running out of designated recording sheetswhen executing the print job.

The client who has viewed such error content transmits, from the mobilephone 9 to the MFP 3 a, a change of job content such that the error issolved. Here, the change of job content includes changing the size ofthe recording sheet from, for example, “A4” size to “B5” size.

Note that by performing such processing, the client can manipulate thejob from the mobile phone 9 while away from the MFP 3 a before going tothe MFP 3 a, and solve an error faster than, for example, a case inwhich only the content of the error is transmitted to the mobile phone9, thereby improving convenience.

3.2 Mobile Phone

(1) Overall Operations

The following describes an example of operations of the mobile phone 9pertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 14.

First, the controller 911 causes the display 903 to display a defaultscreen (S201), and processing then moves to the next step.

If an incoming call is received in step S202 (S202: YES), the controller911 causes the calling controller 917 to perform incoming callprocessing (S203), and if an incoming call is not received (S202: NO),processing moves to step S204.

A detailed description of the incoming call processing (S203) has beenomitted since it is the same as conventionally known processing.However, incoming call processing involves, for example, when there isan incoming call, alerting the user of the incoming call by the speaker907 or the oscillator 916, displaying the other party's phone number andname on the display 903, and communicating with the other party.

If a mail is received in step S204 (S204: YES), the controller 911causes the communication controller 933 to perform mail receptionprocessing (S205), and if a mail is not received (S204: NO), processingmoves to step S206.

A detailed description of the mail reception processing (S205) has beenomitted since it is the same as conventionally known processing.However, mail reception processing involves, for example, when a mail isreceived, alerting the user of the mail reception by the speaker 907 orthe oscillator 916, receiving the mail body automatically or based on auser operation, and storing the received mail body to the memory 913.

If the input acquirer 929 receives input from the operation part 901 instep S206, that is, if a user input operation on the operation part 901is received (S206: YES), processing moves to step S207, and if a userinput operation is not received (S206: NO), processing returns to stepS202.

If the operation content of step S206 is related to an outgoing calloperation in step S207 (S207: YES), the controller 911 causes thecalling controller 917 to perform outgoing call processing (S208), andif the operation content is not related to an outgoing call operation(S207: NO), processing moves to step S209.

A detailed description of the outgoing call processing (S208) has beenomitted since it is the same as conventionally known processing.However, outgoing call processing involves, for example, successivelydisplaying, on the display 903, numbers received by key input from theuser, dialing the received numbers, and calling the other party.

In step S209, if the operation content of step S206 is related to a mailoperation (S209: YES), the controller 911 causes the communicationcontroller 933 to perform various mail operations related to mail(S210), and if the operation content is not related to a mail operation(S209: NO), processing moves to step S211.

A detailed description of the mail processing (S210) has been omittedsince it is the same as conventionally known processing. However, mailprocessing involves, for example, storing text created by user input toa mail body, transmitting the mail, and deleting sent and received mailfrom the memory 913.

In step S211, if the operation content of step S206 is related toauthentication processing (S211: YES), the main controller 911 causesthe authentication controller 922 to perform authentication processing(S212), and if the operation content is not related to authenticationprocessing (S211: NO), processing returns to step S202.

(2) Authentication Processing

The following describes an example of authentication processingpertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 15.

The main controller 912 controls the input acquirer 929 to receive anoperation pertaining to an authentication operation from the client instep S206 of FIG. 14, and thereafter controls the display controller 927to cause the display 903 to display the authentication screen (S221).The authentication screen includes a guidance screen displayed to theclient in order for the MFP 3 a to authenticate the mobile phone 9.Here, the authentication screen also includes an option to start theauthentication processing.

When the client performs an operation (e.g., performs input using aninput key) for instructing the authentication to begin in accordancewith the screen displayed on the display 903 (S222: YES), processingmoves to step S223 in which mobile phone authentication processing isperformed with the mobile phone 9.

The following describes an example of the mobile phone authenticationprocessing (S223) pertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 16.

When the mobile phone authentication begins in step S222 of FIG. 15, theclient brings the IC part 909 of the mobile phone 9 close to the ICreader 313 a of the authenticator 313 of the MFP 3 a. The authenticationcontroller 922, the communication controller 933, and the likewirelessly transmit mobile phone information (in the present embodiment,the client's name, password, and the mail address of the mobile phone 9)that is recorded on the IC chip of the mobile phone 9 (S241).

Here, upon receiving the aforementioned name, password and mail address,the MFP 3 a performs an account check with respect to the received nameand password (i.e., judges whether the name and password are registeredin the account database 337 as a client for whom login is permitted),and if the account is authenticated, the MFP 3 a transmits anotification of account authentication to the mobile phone 9 (stepsS133, S134 and S135 of FIG. 10).

In step S242, when the authentication controller 922 receives theaccount authentication notification via the mail controller 919,communication controller 933, and the like (S242: YES), the mobile phone9 enters a login state (S243), and processing returns and moves to stepS224 of FIG. 15.

Here, the MFP 3 a receives the type of the job that the client isregistering, and transmits an application corresponding to the job typeto the mobile phone 9 (S S142 of FIG. 10).

The application controller 922 receives the application from the MFP 3 a(S224), controls the display controller 927 to display, on the display903, an option to permit installation of the received application, andinstalls the received application if permission to install theapplication is received from the client (S225: YES).

After the installation has been completed, the installed application isrun, and application processing is performed (S228). Note that in thepresent embodiment, there are two types of application that can bereceived from the MFP 3 a, namely a scan transmission job applicationand a print job application. Processing of these applications isdescribed in the next section.

On the other hand, if installation of the application is not permittedin step S225, that is, in the case of not installing the application(S225: NO), logout, which means ceasing communication with the MFP 3 a,is performed (S230), and thereafter processing returns and proceeds tostep S202 of FIG. 14.

(3) Application Processing

The following describes an example of application processing (for aprint job) pertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 17.

First, the application controller 923 judges whether a mail has beenreceived (S250). If a mail has been received (S250: YES), theapplication controller 923 judges whether the received mail is from theMFP 3 a (S251). Note that the judgment is performed using a field of themail header, that is, using the address of the sender.

In step S251, if the received mail is from the MFP 3 a (S251: YES),notification content of the mail is identified (S252), and jobinformation notification processing is performed (S253).

The following describes an example of the job information notificationprocessing (S253) pertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 18.

First, whether the alert setting of the mobile phone 9 is in manner modeis judged (S215). If the mobile phone 9 is not set to manner mode (S215:NO), the client is alerted of the received mail using the vibrator, ablinking alert LED, and a sound (hereinafter, these are comprehensivelycalled an “alert”) (S216).

The alert continues until the client acknowledges the alert and stopsthe alert in step S217. In other words, if an operation of the operationpart 901 indicating stopping of the alert is not received from theclient (S217: NO), processing returns to step S216, and the alertcontinues.

If an operation of the operation part 901 indicating stopping of thealert is received from the client (S217: YES), processing moves to stepS218, the vibrator, the blinking alert LED, and output of the sound arestopped, and processing returns and moves to step S254 of FIG. 17.

On the other hand, if it is judged in step S215 that the mobile phone 9is set to manner mode (S215: YES), the client is alerted of the receivedmail using the vibrator and the blinking alert LED (hereinafter, theseare also called the “alert”) (S219).

The alert continues until the client acknowledges the alert and stopsthe alert in step S220. In other words, if an operation of the operationpart 901 indicating stopping of the alert is not received from theclient (S220: NO), processing returns to step S219, and the alertcontinues.

If an operation of the operation part 901 indicating stopping of thealert is received from the client (S220: YES), processing moves to stepS218, the vibrator and the blinking alert LED are stopped, andprocessing returns and moves to step S254 of FIG. 17.

In step S254 of FIG. 17, judgment is performed to judge whether thecontent of the mail from the MFP 3 a is a job completion notificationtransmitted when execution of the job has been completed, or an errornotification transmitted when an error has occurred during job execution(S254).

If the mail content is a job completion notification, the displaycontrol part 927 is controlled to display “job has been completed” onthe display 903 (S255), and application uninstallation processing isperformed (S256).

The following describes and example of the application uninstallationprocessing pertaining to embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 19.

In step S248, the mobile phone 9 is logged out from the MFP 3 a, and theapplication installed to the mobile phone 9 in order to manipulate thejob pertaining to the authentication is uninstalled (S249), andprocessing returns to step S256 of FIG. 17. Note that the return to stepS256 of FIG. 17 leads to the ending of the application processing ofstep S256 of FIG. 15, and the ending of the authentication processing ofstep S212 of FIG. 14, and ultimately, processing moves to step S202 ofFIG. 14.

Returning now to FIG. 17, if the content of the mail from the MFP 3 a isjudged in step S254 to be an error notification, and furthermore theerror content pertains to an error that requires going to theinstallation site of the MFP 3 a in order to be solved (e.g., recordingsheet jam, toner replacement) (S257: YES), the LED that is one of thealerts is blinked (S258) to alert the client, and the display controller927 is controlled to display “JOB ERROR CONTENT & ERROR SOLUTION” on thedisplay 903 (S259).

When the client who saw the aforementioned display or a person close tothe MFP 3 a has solved the error that occurred in the MFP 3 a, the MFP 3a judges in step S169 of FIG. 13 that the error has been solved, and anerror solution notification is transmitted from the MFP 3 a to themobile phone 9 in step S170.

Upon receiving the error solution notification, the mobile phone 9 stopsthe blinking LED (S261), and processing moves to step S250.

Also, if in step S257 the error content pertains to an error that can besolved without going to the installation site of the MFP 3 a (e.g.,running out of designated recording sheets) (S257: NO), the displaycontroller 927 is controlled to display a job change operation screen onthe display 903 (S262).

When the client who saw the aforementioned display performs an operationfor changing a job setting (e.g., switching the recording sheet from“A4” to “B4”), the input acquirer 929 receives the operation content(S263). The received content change is transmitted to the MFP 3 a(S264).

Note that when the error is solved by the MFP 3 a reflecting the changesin content in step S174 of FIG. 13, the error solution notification istransmitted to the mobile phone 9 (S170).

When the mobile phone 9 receives the error solution notification (S265:YES in FIG. 17), processing moves to step S250. Note that if the errorsolution notification is not received, processing returns to step S265such that the mobile phone 9 waits for reception thereof, and whether ornot the notification has been received is judged again (S265: NO).

On the other hand, if the received mail is not from the MFP 3 a,processing returns such that the mail reception processing of step S205of FIG. 14 is performed, since the received mail is a normal mail (S251:NO). Note that as described above, the return after step S256 of FIG. 17ultimately leads to step S202 of FIG. 14.

If an input operation indicating operation cancellation (“CANCEL” ofstep S266) is received while a mail has not been received in step S250(S250: NO), that is, if the client has stopped manipulating the job fromthe mobile phone, or is changing the execution content of the job,processing moves from A to return.

If an input operation instructing a job content change is received(“CHANGE” of step S266), the display controller 927 is controlled todisplay an operation screen for job content change on the display 903(S267).

When the client who saw the aforementioned display performs an operationto change the job content, such as changing the number of print setsfrom “1” to “5”, the input acquirer 929 receives the operation content(S268). The received content change is transmitted to the MFP 3 a(S269), and processing moves to step S250.

(4) Application Processing

Although the application processing described using FIG. 17 is for aprint job, application processing for a scan transmission job issubstantially the same as the application processing for a print job.

Since the type of job to be executed is different in these two types ofapplication processing, there are differences in changes to the contentof the jobs and the content of errors. Due to these differences, thedisplay content of the display 903 is different in steps S262 and S267of FIG. 17, the content received from the client is different, andcontent changes transmitted to the MFP are of course different.

The following describes differences between the print application andthe scan transmission application pertaining to embodiment 1 withreference to FIG. 20.

As shown in FIG. 20, in step S262 (display performed when an error hasoccurred), the print job application displays change print size, changecolor/monochrome, and change resolution, whereas the scan transmissionjob application displays change transmission destination, changetransmission method, change color/monochrome, and change resolution.

On the other hand, in step S267 (display performed for changes beforejob execution), the print job application displays change print size,change color/monochrome, change resolution, change number of print sets(number of print copies), change number of print sheets, and changesort, whereas the scan transmission job application displays changetransmission destination, change transmission method, changecolor/monochrome, change resolution, and change file format. Note thatin addition to performing such displays, input operations pertaining tothese changes are received from the client.

(5) Another Example

In the above example, as shown in FIG. 2, an error occurs duringexecution of a job by the MFP 3 a, and in order to manipulate the job, ajob content change is transmitted to the MFP 3 a based on a notificationof the error content. However, a change to the job content can betransmitted to the MFP 3 a even if an error has not occurred.

The following describes another example pertaining to embodiment 1 withreference to FIG. 21.

Note that since portions of the content of FIG. 21 are the same as inFIG. 2, descriptions of such portions will be brief.

First, as shown in FIG. 21, the client who wishes to send a job requestgoes to the installation site of the MFP 3 a, and login authenticationis performed between the mobile phone 9 of the client and the MFP 3 a(shown as “1” in the figure).

After login authentication has been performed, the client registers ajob to be executed by the MFP 3 a (shown as “2” in the figure). Here,the job to be registered is a print job in which the print size is “A4”,and the number of print sets is “3”.

Upon receiving the job registration (print job) from the client, the MFP3 a transmits, to the mobile phone 9, an application to be used inrelation to the registered job (shown as “3” in the figure). The mobilephone 9 receives the application, and installs the received application(shown as “4” in the figure).

Next, the client sends a print job request (outputs data pertaining tothe print job) from the client terminal to the MFP 3 a.

In the case of making a change to content of the print job beforeexecution by the MFP 3 a (e.g., there is a need to change the number ofprint sets from “3” to “5”), the client transmits an instruction tochange the number of print sets from the mobile phone 9 (shown as “11”in the figure).

The MFP 3 a that received the instruction changes the number of printsets of the print job pertaining to the authentication to “5” andexecutes the job (shown as “12” in the figure), and upon completing thejob, transmits a job completion notification to the mobile phone 9(shown as “13” in the figure).

This enables the client to find out from the mobile phone 9 that theprint job whose number of print sets was changed has been completed, andthe mobile phone 9 uninstalls the application that is no longernecessary since the job request sent to the MFP 3 a has been completed(shown as “14” in the figure).

Note that the aforementioned example is implemented by steps S250 (S250:NO), S266 (S266: CHANGE), S267, S268, and S269 of FIG. 17.

As mentioned above, even if, for example, there is a need to give aninstruction to the MFP 3 a, the client can manipulate the job requestsent to the MFP 3 a without the trouble of going to the installationsite thereof and returning to the installation site of one of the clientterminals 5 a to 5 c. Also, the client can send an instruction (jobmanipulation) from the mobile phone 9 to the MFP 3 a after sending a jobrequest even if he/she has moved away from the MFP 3 a and the clientterminals 5 a to 5 c.

Also, the application that is installed in the mobile phone 9 isuninstalled after the job has been completed, thereby eliminating theneed to increase the memory capacity of the mobile phone 9.

Furthermore, since the present embodiment employs a structure in whichapplications to be installed in the mobile phone 9 are acquired from theMFP 3 a per job request, if, for example, the software of the MFP 3 a isupgraded, the mobile phone 9 can acquire an upgraded version of theapplication from the MFP 3 a.

Also, the present embodiment provides a sense of reassurance in terms ofsecurity, mistaken operations and the like since the MFP 3 a receives anoperation pertaining to a job from a client who has been authenticatedwith respect to the job.

Embodiment 2

Although in the other example of embodiment 1, content changes etc. asshown in FIG. 21 are assumed to be operations that can be performed fromthe mobile phone with use of the print job application, in embodiment 2,there are descriptions of cases of changing the MFP that is to performprint output and cancelling a job, which are changes to content notshown in FIG. 21. Note that since portions of the content of FIG. 22 arethe same as in FIG. 2, descriptions of such portions will be brief.

First, as shown in FIG. 22, the client goes to the installation site ofthe MFP 3 a, and login authentication is performed between the mobilephone 9 of the job request sender and the MFP 3 a (shows as “1” in thefigure).

After login authentication has been performed, the client registers ajob to be executed by the MFP 3 a (shown as “2” in the figure). Here,the job to be registered is a print job in which the print size is “A4”,and the number of print sets is “3”.

Upon receiving the job registration (print job) from the client, the MFP3 a transmits, to the mobile phone 9, an application to be used inrelation to the registered job (shown as “3” in the figure). The mobilephone 9 receives the application, and installs the received application(shown as “4” in the figure).

Next, the client sends a print job request (outputs data pertaining tothe print job) from the client terminal to the MFP 3 a. If an error hasoccurred during execution of another person's job before execution ofthe job from the client terminal (shown as “11” in the figure), the MFP3 a notifies the content of the error to the mobile phone 9 (shown as“12” in the figure).

The client can find out the content of the error from the mobile phone9, and transmit, from the mobile phone 9, an instruction to change theoriginal print output device, namely the MFP 3 a, to another outputdevice, namely the MFP 3 b (shown as “13” in the figure).

The MFP 3 a receives the instruction, and transfers the print jobpertaining to the authentication to the MFP 3 b (transmits the printdata) (shown as “14” in the figure). In accordance with the jobtransfer, the print job is executed by the MFP 3 b (shown as “15” in thefigure), and a notification that the job has been completed istransmitted to the MFP 3 a (shown as “16” in the figure).

The MFP 3 a receives the notification, and transmits a job completionnotification to the mobile phone 9 (shown as “17” in the figure). Thisenables the client to find out from the mobile phone 9 that the job hasbeen completed, and the mobile phone 9 uninstalls the application thatis no longer necessary since the job request sent to the MFP 3 a hasbeen completed (shown as “18” in the figure).

As mentioned above, even if, for example, there is a need to give aninstruction to the MFP 3 a, the client can send an instruction to theMFP 3 a without the trouble of going to the installation site thereofand returning to the installation site of one of the client terminals 5a to 5 c. Also, the client can send an instruction from the mobile phone9 to the MFP 3 a after sending a job request even if he/she has movedaway from the MFP 3 a and the client terminals 5 a to 5 c.

While the structures of the MFP 3 a, the client terminals 5 a to 5 c,and the mobile phone 9 are basically the same as the correspondingstructure described in embodiment 1, the print job application of thepresent embodiment differs from that of embodiment 1.

The following describes print job processing of an applicationpertaining to embodiment 2 with reference to FIG. 23.

Only a portion of the flowchart of FIG. 23 differs from the flowchart ofFIG. 13, and the following describes the differing portion. Note that inthe following description of the present embodiment, it is assumed thatthe change of job content from the mobile phone 9 is a change of printoutput device, that is to say, it is assumed that the MFP 3 a hasreceived a notification instructing a change of MFP.

In step S173, when a change of job content is received from the mobilephone 9 (S173: YES), the MFP 3 a judges whether the content change is“change output device” (S301). If the result of the judgment is that thecontent change is not “change output device” (S301: NO), the MFP 3 ajudges whether the content change is “cancel job” (S303).

If the result of the judgment of step S303 is affirmative (S303: YES),the MFP 3 a cancels the print job and transmits a notification of thecancellation to the mobile phone 9 (S305), and processing returns toFIG. 10 through FIG. 13.

Note that if the result of the judgment of step S303 is negative (S303:NO), processing moves to step S174 of FIG. 13, and the processing ofS174 and thereafter is performed.

Also, if the content change is a change of output device in step S301(S301: YES), the MFP 3 a transmits the content of the registered job toanother MFP (here, the MFP 3 b) (S307).

The MFP 3 a judges whether a job completion has been received from theMFP 3 b to which the job was transferred (S308). The job completionnotification indicates that the print job transmitted in step S307 hasbeen completed. If the job completion notification has been received(S308: YES), the MFP 3 a transmits the job completion notification tothe mobile phone 9 (S309), and processing returns to FIG. 10 throughFIG. 13.

Embodiment 3

In embodiments 1 and 2, if an error occurs during execution of the jobfrom the client, a change to the job content is instructed from themobile phone in order to handle the error. However, the job of the MFPmay be manipulated using the mobile phone even if an error has notoccurred in the MFP. In embodiment 3, since cancellation of a job andchanging of the output device are possible, even if there is an errorthat cannot be solved without going to the installation site of the MFP,such an error can be avoided using the mobile phone.

The following describes an example of processing pertaining toembodiment 3 with reference to FIG. 24. Note that since portions of thecontent of FIG. 24 are the same as in FIG. 22 of embodiment 2,descriptions of such portions will be brief.

First, as shown in FIG. 24, the client goes to the installation site ofthe MFP 3 a, and login authentication is performed between the mobilephone 9 of the job request sender and the MFP 3 a (shown as “1” in thefigure).

After login authentication has been performed, the client registers ajob to be executed by the MFP 3 a (shown as “2” in the figure). Here,the job to be registered is a print job in which the print size is “A4”,and the number of print sets is “3”.

Upon receiving the job registration (print job) from the client, the MFP3 a transmits, to the mobile phone 9, an application to be used inrelation to the registered job (shown as “3” in the figure). The mobilephone 9 receives the application, and installs the received application(shown as “4” in the figure).

Next, the client sends a print job request (outputs data pertaining tothe print job) from the client terminal to the MFP 3 a.

Next, the client uses the application to access the MFP 3 a in order tofind out a job status (shown as “11” in the figure), and acquires thejob status from the MFP 3 a (shown as “12” in the figure).

If the job status indicates that, for example, the MFP 3 a is executinganother person's job and that execution of the client's job will taketime, the client transmits an instruction to change the output devicefrom the MFP 3 a to the MFP 3 b (shown as “13” in the figure).

The MFP 3 a receives the instruction, and similarly to embodiment 2,performs processing for transferring the job to the MFP 3 b, etc.

The following describes authentication processing (S401) in the MFPpertaining to embodiment 3 with reference to FIG. 25. Note that only aportion of the flowchart of FIG. 25 differs from the flowchart of FIG.13 or FIG. 23, and the following describes the differing portion.

As shown in FIG. 25, first the MFP 3 a judges whether accesscorresponding to “11” of FIG. 24 has been performed (S403). If accesshas been performed by the mobile phone 9 (S403: YES), the MFP 3 atransmits the status of the currently received job to the mobile phone 9(S405).

Next, the MFP judges whether an instruction to change the job contenthas been received from the mobile phone 9 (S407). If there has been aninstruction to change the job content (S407: YES), processing moves tostep S176 of FIG. 13. If on the other hand an instruction to change thejob content has not been received (S407: NO), processing similarly movesto step S161 of FIG. 13. If the instruction to change the job contentincludes a change of output device or a job cancellation, processing maybe returned to S301 of FIG. 23.

If in step S403, access has not been performed by the mobile phone 9(S403: NO), the MFP 3 a judges whether a predetermined time has elapsed(S409). If the predetermined time has not elapsed (S409: NO), processingreturns to step S403, and the predetermined time has elapsed (S409:YES), access by the mobile phone 9 is considered to not have beenperformed, and processing moves to step S161.

The following describes application processing (S411) in the mobilephone pertaining to embodiment 3 with reference to FIG. 26. Only aportion of the flowchart of FIG. 26 differs from the flowchart of FIG.17, and the following describes the differing portion. Also, the portiondescribed hereinafter corresponds to FIG. 25 which is a portion of theauthentication processing of the MFP 3 a.

As shown in FIG. 26, first the mobile phone 9 accesses the MFP 3 a,which corresponds to “11” of FIG. 24. Note that this access may beperformed automatically when performing the application processing, ormay be performed after receiving an access instruction from the client.

Upon acquiring the job status from the MFP 3 a in response to theaccess, the content of the job status is displayed on the display 903(S415). If the client who saw the display performs an operation forchanging the job content, the judgment of step S417 is “YES”, andprocessing moves to step S266. In FIG. 17, if the client does notperform an operation for changing the job content, the judgment of stepS417 is “NO”, and processing moves to step S250.

SUMMARY

Although the present invention has been described based on theabove-described embodiments, the content of the present invention is ofcourse not limited to the specific examples shown in the embodiments.For example, the following variations can also be implemented.

1. Image Processing Apparatus and Mobile Terminal

(1) Image Processing Apparatus

Although an MFP is used as the image processing apparatus in the aboveembodiments, the image processing apparatus may be any of various typesof apparatuses such as a FAX apparatus that reads a scanned originaldocument (image), outputs a received FAX, etc., a copying apparatus thatcopies a scanned original document, and a printer that forms an image(may be characters, graphics, images, etc.) on a recording sheet basedon electronic data. Alternatively, the image processing apparatus may beany of various types of complex apparatuses in which any of the aboveapparatuses have been arbitrarily combined.

(2) Mobile Terminal

Although a mobile phone is used as the mobile terminal in the aboveembodiments, it is sufficient for the mobile terminal to have astructure that is able to perform communication with the MFP (imageprocessing apparatus) and that can run an application received from theMFP, display various types of information in accordance with executionof the application, receive input, and perform transmission with respectto the MFP.

In other words, a mobile phone (may be a PHS), a mobile informationterminal (PDA), a smart phone combining these, or the like can be usedas the mobile terminal.

Furthermore, the mobile terminal may be able to perform communicationwith the image processing apparatus by an independent standard ratherthan via a so-called telecommunication carrier. For example, Bluetoothmay be used, or home RF may be used depending on the situation.

A wireless LAN may also be used. In this case, communication becomesimpossible as the distance between the image processing apparatus andthe mobile terminal increases. However, implementation is possible by,for example, using two or more routers and connecting the nearest routerand the mobile terminal by the wireless LAN.

2. Authentication

Although wireless communication using IC chips is used forauthentication between the image processing apparatus and the mobileterminal in the above embodiments, such authentication may be performedby another method. The other method may consider the mobile phone andperson in possession thereof as the same, and perform fingerprintauthentication or voice print authentication with the person inpossession of the mobile phone, in order to authenticate the person asregistered.

Also, if the mobile terminal is a mobile phone, a call may be placedfrom the mobile phone to the image processing apparatus, and thecharacter input keys of the mobile phone may be used to input apassword, which is then transmitted to the image processing apparatus,in order to authenticate the person as registered.

3. Authentication and Job Registration

Although job registration in the above embodiments is performed afterlogin authentication as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 21 and FIG. 22, loginauthentication may be commenced during job registration or after the jobhas been registered. However, if job registration is performed first, itis necessary to perform login authentication before the job is executed.

Consequently, if a print job or the like is registered beforeauthentication, information instructing authentication to be performedis stored in print job data that is to be transmitted from the clientterminal to the image processing apparatus, and the image processingapparatus that received such information need only performauthentication processing with the mobile terminal of the client thatsent the print job request.

Also, in the case of performing a scan transmission job, the imageprocessing apparatus may, for example, display a setting (e.g.,transmission destination, transmission method, etc.) input screenregarding the scan transmission job on the display after reception ofthe job, additionally display an option to perform authentication, andreceive input regarding the settings and the authentication at the sametime. The image processing apparatus may also display the option toperform authentication and receive the input regarding theauthentication from the client, after input of the settings has beencompleted.

4. Jobs

(1) Job Types

Although a print job and scan transmission job have been given asexamples of jobs pertaining to authentication in the above embodiments,other jobs can also be implemented. The following describes a mainfunction of an application for another job with reference to FIG. 27.

In the example shown in FIG. 27, the MFP is provided with applicationsfor scan jobs and print jobs, and the applications for scan jobsincludes a scan to box application in addition the scan transmission jobapplication described in the embodiments.

In addition to “change resolution”, “change color/monochrome”, and“change file format”, “change save destination” and the like can beperformed if the scan to box application is run.

(2) Content Change

Although the content changes of the above embodiments involve changes tocontent of jobs of the same job type, the job type itself may bechanged. For example, a scan transmission job may be changed to a copyjob. Specifically, transmission of a scanned original document may becancelled, and the scanned original document may instead be printed inthe form of a copy.

Note that in the case of changing the job type, an applicationcorresponding to the new job type may be transmitted. Alternatively, theapplication corresponding to the new job type may not be transmitted,and content changes etc. to the new job may not be permitted.

5. Exchange Of Notifications Etc. Between Image Processing Apparatus andMobile Terminal

Although the exchange of notification between the image processingapparatus and the mobile terminal is performed using mail headers in theabove embodiments, the information of the notifications etc. may bestored in, for example, a mail body. Note that although not particularlydescribed, mail is used as a concept that includes not only so-calledE-mail, but also mail in the form of a short message that is transmittedand received directly, without going through the Internet, if thetelecommunication carrier of the phone of the MFP and the mobile phoneis the same.

Furthermore, if the image processing apparatus and the mobile terminalare connected using a wireless LAN, the exchange of notifications may beimplemented by directly transmitting information (packets) to the otherdevice's IP address.

6. Application Software

Although screens etc. displayed when running application software is notdescribed in the embodiments, screens corresponding to instructioncontent to be transmitted to the image processing apparatus andinformation to be received from the image processing apparatus are setin the application software.

In the image processing apparatus, if, for example, there is a shortageof “A4” recording sheets and an error occurs as described in FIG. 22,information indicating this shortage of recording sheets is associatedbetween the image processing apparatus and the mobile terminal inadvance, and the mobile terminal is programmed such that, when theinformation indicating this error is received, items such as “canceljob”, “change recording sheet”, and “load recording sheets” aredisplayed on the display for selection by the user.

7. Other Remarks

Although application software is uninstalled in the above embodimentswithout permission from the client, who is the user of the mobile phone,as shown in for example step S249 of FIG. 19, upon receiving anotification that the job related to image processing has been completed(job completion notification) from the image processing apparatus, themobile terminal may receive, from the client, an instruction of whetherto delete the application software.

The application software transmitted from the image processing apparatusto the mobile phone may be transmitted in a compressed or uncompressedform. There are no particular restrictions regarding the form of theapplication software.

Although an MFP (image processing apparatus) and a mobile phone (mobileterminal) have been described in the above embodiments, a program forcausing the MFP and the mobile phone to execute operations such as inthe above embodiments may be stored on a readable recording medium, andthe recording medium may be distributed and be the subject of atransaction.

Also, the program may be distributed via a network or the like and bethe subject of transaction, and be installed on the client terminal viathe network. Furthermore, the program may be presented to the user bybeing, for example, displayed on a display apparatus or printed out asprinted material.

Here, the readable recording medium may be a removable storage mediumsuch as a floppy disk, CD, MO, DVD, or memory card, or a fixed storagemedium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. There are noparticular restrictions regarding the recording medium.

8. Summary

The above embodiments are for resolving the issues described in sectionregarding conventional technology. The following is a summary of theabove embodiments.

In one aspect of the above embodiments, an image processing systemincludes: an image processing apparatus that includes a job executoroperable to receive an image processing-related job and execute thereceived job, an authenticator operable to authenticate that a user of amobile terminal is registered in the image processing apparatus, atransmitter operable to transmit, to the mobile terminal of theauthenticated user, a piece of application software that enables atleast one operation equivalent to a user operation performed directly onthe image processing apparatus in a case of execution of the jobpertaining to the authenticated user, and a receiver operable toreceive, from the mobile terminal, operation content of an operationperformed on the job by the authenticated user with use of the piece ofapplication software transmitted to the mobile terminal; and the mobileterminal that includes a receiver operable to receive the piece ofapplication software, an application software executor operable toexecute the received piece of application software, and a transmitteroperable to transmit, to the image processing apparatus, the operationcontent in a case of the authenticated user performing the operation onthe job with use of the application software, wherein the job executorof the image processing apparatus executes the job in accordance withthe operation content received from the mobile terminal pertaining tothe authentication.

The “authenticator” is not limited to using any particularauthentication method as long as it is able to authenticate that theuser of the mobile terminal is registered in the image processingapparatus. There are no particular restrictions on the authenticationmethod. Also, authentication need only be performed between the mobileterminal and the image processing apparatus if the user is using aspecified mobile terminal, and furthermore, authentication may beperformed between the user and the image processing apparatus if themobile terminal used by the user is not predetermined. One example ofthis is a case where two or more clients (senders of job requests to theimage processing apparatus) are sharing fewer mobile terminals thanthere are clients.

In the image processing system, the application software enables atleast one operation equivalent to a user operation performed directly onthe image processing apparatus in a case of execution of the jobpertaining to the authenticated user, and, the authenticated user cantransmit, from the mobile terminal to the image processing apparatus,operation content in a case of using the mobile terminal to manipulatethe job pertaining to the authentication.

According to this structure, if for example an error occurs duringexecution of a job in the image processing apparatus, and the error canbe solved by changing the content of the job, or in a case of changingthe job content before execution, the job request sender can solve theerror or change the job content by operating the image processingapparatus from the mobile terminal, without the trouble of going to theinstallation site of the image processing apparatus.

Also, the job executor may execute a plurality of types of imageprocessing-related jobs, and the transmitter of the image processingapparatus may transmit the piece of application software correspondingto a type of the job pertaining to the authenticated user.

According to this structure, the application software need only be ableto manipulate a corresponding job, thereby reducing the memory capacityrequired by the application software, compared to an application for alljobs, and reducing the load on the mobile terminal.

Also, the image processing apparatus may include a part operable totransmit, to the mobile terminal, information regarding an error thathas occurred in execution of the job pertaining to the authentication,the application software executor may further receive the operation forhandling the error, the transmitter of the mobile terminal may transmit,to the image processing apparatus, the operation content of the receivedoperation performed by the authenticated user for handling the error,and the job executor may execute the job in which the error hasoccurred, in accordance with the operation content received by thereceiver of the image processing apparatus.

Here, the “part operable to transmit, to the mobile terminal,information regarding an error that has occurred in execution of the jobpertaining to the authentication” may be the transmitter of the imageprocessing apparatus, or may be separate from the transmitter.

Another aspect of the above embodiments is an image processing apparatuscapable of communication with a mobile terminal and including a jobexecutor for executing an image processing-related job, the imageprocessing apparatus including: an authenticator operable toauthenticate that a user of a mobile terminal is registered in the imageprocessing apparatus; a transmitter operable to transmit, to the mobileterminal of the authenticated user, a piece of application software thatenables at least one operation equivalent to a user operation performeddirectly on the image processing apparatus in a case of execution of thejob pertaining to the authenticated user; and a receiver operable toreceive, from the mobile terminal, operation content of an operationperformed on the job by the authenticated user with use of the piece ofapplication software transmitted to the mobile terminal, wherein the jobexecutor of the image processing apparatus executes the job inaccordance with the operation content received from the mobile terminalpertaining to the authentication.

In the image processing apparatus, the application software enables atleast one operation equivalent to a user operation performed directly onthe image processing apparatus in a case of execution of the jobpertaining to the authenticated user, and with use of the applicationsoftware, the authenticated user can transmit, from the mobile terminalto the image processing apparatus, operation content of an operation.

According to this structure, if for example an error occurs duringexecution of a job in the image processing apparatus, and the error canbe solved by changing the content of the job, or in a case of changingthe job content before execution, the job request sender can solve theerror or change the job content by operating the image processingapparatus from the mobile terminal, without the trouble of going to theinstallation site of the image processing apparatus.

Also, the job executor may execute a plurality of types of imageprocessing-related jobs, and the transmitter of the image processingapparatus may transmit the piece of application software correspondingto a type of the job pertaining to the authenticated user.

According to this structure, the application software need only be ableto manipulate a corresponding job, thereby reducing the memory capacityrequired by the application software, compared to an application for alljobs, and reducing the load on the mobile terminal.

Also, the authenticator may acquire authentication information of theuser of the mobile terminal directly from the mobile terminal with useof wireless communication.

This enables the user of the mobile terminal to be reliablyauthenticated, ensures security with respect to the leakage of an imagefor processing, etc., and eliminates cases such as the reception of anoperation from a person who is unrelated to the job pertaining to theauthentication.

Also, the piece of application software may be transmitted to the mobileterminal of the authenticated user, for execution of only the jobreceived from the authenticated user.

This enables preventing application software from being transmitted to amobile terminal that is unrelated to the authentication.

Also, the image processing apparatus may include a part operable totransmit, to the mobile terminal, information regarding an error thathas occurred in execution of the job pertaining to the authentication,wherein the receiver may receive the operation content of the operationfor handling the error, and the job executor may execute the job inwhich the error has occurred, in accordance with the operation contentreceived by the receiver.

Here, the “part operable to transmit, to the mobile terminal,information regarding an error that has occurred in execution of the jobpertaining to the authentication” may use the transmitter of the imageprocessing apparatus, or may be separate from the transmitter.

Another aspect of the above embodiments is a mobile terminal capable ofcommunication with an image processing apparatus for executing an imageprocessing-related job, the mobile terminal including: a transmitteroperable to transmit, to the image processing apparatus, authenticationinformation necessary for authentication of a user of the mobileterminal in the image processing apparatus; a receiver operable to, whenthe user has been authenticated by the image processing apparatus,receive therefrom a piece of application software that enables at leastone operation equivalent to a user operation performed directly on theimage processing apparatus in a case of execution of the job pertainingto the authenticated user; and an application software executor operableto execute the received piece of application software, wherein thetransmitter further transmits, to the image processing apparatus,operation content of an operation performed on the job by theauthenticated user with use of the piece of application software.

According to this structure, if for example an error occurs duringexecution of a job in the image processing apparatus, and the error canbe solved by changing the content of the job, or in a case of changingthe job content before execution, the job request sender can solve theerror or change the job content by operating the image processingapparatus from the mobile terminal, without the trouble of going to theinstallation site of the image processing apparatus.

Also, the mobile terminal may include a part operable to receiveinformation regarding an error that has occurred in execution of the jobpertaining to the authentication performed in the image processingapparatus, the application software executor may receive the at leastone operation for handling the error in order to enable execution of thejob in which the error has occurred, and the transmitter may transmitoperation content of the received operation for handling the error tothe image processing apparatus. Here, the “part operable to transmit, tothe mobile terminal, information regarding an error that has occurred inexecution of the job pertaining to the authentication” may use thetransmitter of the mobile terminal, or may be separate from thetransmitter.

Another aspect of the above embodiments is a recording medium havingrecorded thereon a program for causing an image processing apparatus,which is for executing an image processing-related job and capable ofcommunication with a mobile terminal, to perform processing including:an authentication step of authenticating that a user of the mobileterminal is registered in the image processing apparatus; a transmissionstep of transmitting, to the mobile terminal of the authenticated user,a piece of application software that enables at least one operationequivalent to a user operation performed directly on the imageprocessing apparatus in a case of execution of the job pertaining to theauthenticated user; a reception step of receiving, from the mobileterminal, operation content of an operation performed on the job by theauthenticated user with use of the piece of application softwaretransmitted to the mobile terminal; and an execution step of executingthe job in accordance with the operation content received from themobile terminal pertaining to the authentication.

Also, the program may cause the image processing apparatus to perform astep of, when an error has occurred in execution of the job pertainingto the authenticated user of the mobile terminal, transmittinginformation regarding the error to the mobile terminal, the receptionstep may receive the operation content regarding the operation forhandling the error, and the execution step may execute the job in whichthe error has occurred, in accordance with the operation contentreceived in the reception step.

Another aspect of the above embodiments is a recording medium havingrecorded thereon a program for causing a mobile terminal, which iscapable of communication with an image processing apparatus forexecuting an image processing-related job, to perform processingincluding: a first transmission step of transmitting, to the imageprocessing apparatus, authentication information necessary forauthentication of a user of the mobile terminal in the image processingapparatus; a reception step of, when the user has been authenticated bythe image processing apparatus, receiving therefrom a piece ofapplication software that enables at least one operation equivalent to auser operation performed directly on the image processing apparatus in acase of execution of the job pertaining to the authenticated user; and asecond transmission step of transmitting, to the image processingapparatus, operation content of an operation performed on the job by theauthenticated user with use of the piece of application software.

Also, the program may cause the mobile terminal to perform an inputreception step of receiving, from the authenticated user, input ofwhether to install the received piece of application software; theprogram may cause the mobile terminal to perform a step of receivinginformation regarding execution of the job from the image processingapparatus, and a switch step of, in accordance with the receivedinformation, switching between deleting the piece of applicationsoftware and alerting the user of the mobile terminal; the switch stepmay switch to deleting the piece of application software when theinformation indicates completion of execution of the job, and toalerting the user when the information indicates that an error hasoccurred in execution of the job; and the program may cause the mobileterminal to perform a step of receiving information regarding an errorthat has occurred in execution of the job pertaining to theauthentication performed in the image processing apparatus, and anoperation reception step of receiving the at least one operation forhandling the error in order to enable execution of the job in which theerror has occurred, and the second transmission step may transmit, tothe image processing apparatus, operation content of the receivedoperation for handling the error.

9. Lastly

Although relationships between the above embodiments, variations and thelike has not been particularly described, the content of theembodiments, variations and the like may be appropriately combined.

Although the present invention has been fully described by way ofexamples with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be notedthat various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilledin the art. Therefore, unless such changes and modifications depart fromthe scope of the present invention, they should be construed as beingincluded therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image processing system comprising: an imageprocessing apparatus that includes a job executor operable to receive animage processing-related job and execute the received imageprocessing-related job, the job executor being operable to execute aplurality of types of image processing-related jobs that differ inoutput destination from each other, an authenticator operable toauthenticate that a user of a mobile terminal is registered in the imageprocessing apparatus, a transmitter operable to transmit, to the mobileterminal of the authenticated user, a piece of application software thatenables at least one operation for changing processing content of thereceived image processing-related job, equivalent to a user operationperformed directly on the image processing apparatus in a case ofexecution of the received image processing-related job, a part operableto transmit, to the mobile terminal of the authenticated user,information indicating that an error has occurred during the executionof the received image processing-related job, and a receiver operable toreceive, from the mobile terminal of the authenticated user, a change inthe processing content of the received image processing-related job,indicated by the authenticated user with use of the piece of applicationsoftware transmitted to the mobile terminal; and the mobile terminalthat includes a receiver operable to receive the piece of applicationsoftware, an application software executor operable to execute thereceived piece of application software and to receive an operation fromthe authenticated user for handling the error, and a transmitteroperable to transmit, to the image processing apparatus, the change inthe processing content in a case of the authenticated user changing thereceived image processing-related job with use of the piece ofapplication software, wherein the change in the processing content ofthe received image processing-related job corresponds to the operationreceived from the authenticated user for handling the error, and changesan output destination of the received image processing-related job to adifferent output destination, and if the receiver of the imageprocessing apparatus receives the change in the processing content ofthe received image processing-related job from the mobile terminalbefore the received image processing-related job is completed, the jobexecutor of the image processing apparatus executes a change in theoutput destination of the received image processing-related job.
 2. Animage processing apparatus capable of communication with a mobileterminal, the image processing apparatus comprising: a job executoroperable to receive an image processing-related job and execute thereceived image processing-related job, the job executor being operableto execute image a plurality of types of processing-related jobs thatdiffer in output destination from each other; an authenticator operableto authenticate that a user of a mobile terminal is registered in theimage processing apparatus; a transmitter operable to transmit, to themobile terminal of the authenticated user, a piece of applicationsoftware that enables at least one operation for changing processingcontent of the received image processing-related job, equivalent to auser operation performed directly on the image processing apparatus in acase of execution of the received image processing-related job; a partoperable to transmit, to the mobile terminal of the authenticated user,information indicating that an error has occurred during the executionof the received image processing-related job; a receiver operable toreceive, from the mobile terminal of the authenticated user, a change inthe processing content of the received image processing-related job,indicated by the authenticated user with use of the piece of applicationsoftware transmitted to the mobile terminal, wherein the change in theprocessing content of the received image processing-related jobcorresponds to an operation received from the authenticated user of themobile terminal for handling the error, and changes an outputdestination of the received image processing-related job to a differentoutput destination, and if the receiver receives the change in theprocessing content of the received image processing-related job from themobile terminal before the received image processing-related job iscompleted, the job executor executes a change in the output destinationof the received image processing-related job.
 3. The image processingapparatus of claim 2, wherein the authenticator acquires authenticationinformation of the user of the mobile terminal directly from the mobileterminal with use of wireless communication.
 4. The image processingapparatus of claim 2, wherein the piece of application software istransmitted to the mobile terminal of the authenticated user, forexecution of only the job received from the authenticated user.
 5. Amobile terminal capable of communication with an image processingapparatus for executing a plurality of types of image processing-relatedjobs that differ in output destination from each other, the mobileterminal comprising: a transmitter operable to transmit, to the imageprocessing apparatus, authentication information necessary forauthentication of a user of the mobile terminal in the image processingapparatus; a receiver operable to, when the user has been authenticatedby the image processing apparatus, receive therefrom a piece ofapplication software that enables at least one operation for changingprocessing content of an image processing-related job of the imageprocessing-related apparatus, equivalent to a user operation performeddirectly on the image processing apparatus in a case of execution of theimage processing-related job; and an application software executoroperable to execute the received piece of application software andreceive an operation from the authenticated user for handling an erroridentified by the image processing apparatus during execution of theimage processing-related job, wherein the transmitter further transmits,to the image processing apparatus, a change in the processing content ofthe image processing-related job by the authenticated user with use ofthe piece of application software, the change in the processing contentof the image processing-related job corresponds to the operationreceived from the authenticated user for handling the error, and changesan output destination of the image processing-related job to a differentoutput destination, and if the image processing apparatus receives thechange in the processing content of the image processing-related jobfrom the transmitter of the mobile terminal before the imageprocessing-related job is completed, the image processing apparatusexecutes a change in the output destination of the imageprocessing-related job.
 6. A non-transitory recording medium havingrecorded thereon a program for causing an image processing apparatus,which is for executing a plurality of types of image processing-relatedjobs that differ in output destination from each other and capable ofcommunication with a mobile terminal, to perform processing including:an authentication step of authenticating that a user of the mobileterminal is registered in the image processing apparatus; a transmissionstep of transmitting, to the mobile terminal of the authenticated user,a piece of application software that enables at least one operation forchanging processing content of the image processing-related job,equivalent to a user operation performed directly on the imageprocessing apparatus in a case of execution of the imageprocessing-related job; a transmission step of transmitting, to themobile terminal of the authenticated user, information indicating thatan error has occurred during the execution of the imageprocessing-related job; a reception step of receiving, from the mobileterminal of the authenticated user, a change in the processing contentof the image processing-related job, indicated by the authenticated userwith use of the piece of application software transmitted to the mobileterminal; wherein the change in the processing content of the imageprocessing-related job corresponds to an operation received from theauthenticated user of the mobile terminal for handling the error, andchanges an output destination of the received image processing-relatedjob to a different output destination; and an execution step ofexecuting a change in the output destination of the imageprocessing-related job if the change in the processing content of theimage processing-related job is received from the mobile terminal beforeexecution of the image processing-related job is completed.
 7. Anon-transitory recording medium having recorded thereon a program forcausing a mobile terminal, which is capable of communication with animage processing apparatus for executing a plurality of types of imageprocessing-related jobs that differ in output destination from eachother, to perform processing comprising: a first transmission step oftransmitting, to the image processing apparatus, authenticationinformation necessary for authentication of a user of the mobileterminal in the image processing apparatus; a reception step of, whenthe user has been authenticated by the image processing apparatus,receiving therefrom a piece of application software that enables atleast one operation for changing processing content of an imageprocessing-related job of the image processing-related apparatus,equivalent to a user operation performed directly on the imageprocessing apparatus in a case of execution of the imageprocessing-related job; a reception step of receiving an operation fromthe authenticated user for handling an error identified by the imageprocessing apparatus during execution of the image processing-relatedjob; a second transmission step of transmitting, to the image processingapparatus, the changed processing content of the imageprocessing-related job by the authenticated user with use of the pieceof application software, wherein the change in the processing content ofthe image processing-related job corresponds to the operation receivedfrom the authenticated user for handling the error, and changes anoutput destination of the image processing-related job to a differentoutput destination, and if the image processing apparatus receives thechange in the processing content of the image processing-related jobtransmitted in the second transmission step before the imageprocessing-related job is completed, the image processing apparatusexecutes a change in the output destination of the imageprocessing-related job.
 8. The non-transitory recording medium of claim7, wherein the program causes the mobile terminal to perform an inputreception step of receiving, from the authenticated user, input ofwhether to install the received piece of application software.
 9. Thenon-transitory recording medium of claim 7, wherein the program causesthe mobile terminal to perform a step of receiving information regardingexecution of the job from the image processing apparatus, and a switchstep of, in accordance with the received information, switching betweendeleting the piece of application software and alerting the user of themobile terminal.
 10. The non-transitory recording medium of claim 9,wherein the switch step switches to deleting the piece of applicationsoftware when the information indicates completion of execution of thejob, and to alerting the user when the information indicates that anerror has occurred in execution of the job.